


Let's Be Us Again

by danrdarrenc



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: I wrote this last summer when Sonny first came back, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-29 19:58:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10861014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danrdarrenc/pseuds/danrdarrenc
Summary: Will comes back from the dead. Sonny cries and commits to making their marriage work.





	Let's Be Us Again

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this last summer when Sonny first returned to Salem, so some of the things they talk about happening already happened and some of it is my headcanon for what I would have liked to have seen happen. I figured now would be a high time to post this. (Yay!!!! ) :)

Sonny took a deep breath before stepping off the plane. It’d been ten months since he’d been in Salem. Ten months since Will’s funeral. He had told Gabi that he’d had to go back to Paris because everything in Salem reminded him of Will; pushing the door of the airport open and taking in the warm summer Midwest air, Sonny wasn’t sure whether he would still be haunted by memories of Will. 

Standing outside the airport, Sonny had a decision to make - where he was going to stay for however long he was needed by his parents. He knew that he was welcome in the apartment with Gabi and Ari, but the thought of living there without Will rattled Sonny. The Kiriakis mansion was hardly better; he wasn’t sure how he could walk into the sitting room every day and not relive his wedding. In the end, Sonny opted for knocking on the door of the DiMera mansion; it was a place that held few memories for him and Will and he knew that Chad and Abi would be glad to lend him a room. 

Sonny sighed as he stared out the window of his bedroom overlooking the garden behind the mansion. He’d been wrong about the DiMera mansion not holding memories for him and Will; unbidden, images came to him of him and Will dancing happily at Sami and EJ’s wedding and of him and Will kissing and embracing tightly the day Will left for LA. Sonny blinked away tears, thinking that that had been the last time him and Will had truly been happy. 

Swallowing thickly, Sonny turned away from the window and made his way slowly down the stairs. 

“How are you doing?” Abi asked, not unkindly, when he’d entered the sitting room. 

“I’m not really sure,” Sonny answered truthfully. He heard how tired his own voice sounded; he’d been back in Salem for less than an hour and already he was ready to leave. “I thought it’d be better now. But…I still see Will everywhere.”

Abigail drew her mouth into a thin line and looked away from him. “I was, uh, I was in the Square the other day and there was this blonde guy standing outside the bookshop. I took two steps towards him to say hello before I remembered.”

She looked back at Sonny who saw she had tears in her eyes.

“You’re not the only one who misses him, Sonny.”

Sonny slipped his hand into his cousin’s. 

“Have you seen Ari yet?” Abi asked after a minute.

Sonny bit the inside of his cheek and shook his head. 

“I know it’s horrible because I love her and I miss her and she’s my daughter but I - it physically hurts me to see her. I look at her and I see Will. Her eyes are his eyes. Her hair is his hair. Her smile is his. And I remember how it was when it was the three of us and all the dreams we had about our future.”

“That’s not horrible, Sonny.” Chad had appeared in the doorway and overheard their conversation. “That’s a normal human reaction.”

Sonny smiled tightly. 

“I should, um, I should go tell my parents I’m here. They’ll be wondering where I am.”

He pulled away from Abigail with a squeeze of her hand and disappeared from the house.

* * *

 

Sonny breathed in the fresh summer air as he headed towards Horton Town Square. Memories flooded his senses as he walked, snippets of a life once lived played in his mind as if he was watching a movie. He remembered walking these streets with Will by his side, their fingers intertwined; his heart clenched painfully as he crossed under the arch and spotted the white couch where he and Will had spent so much time sitting together, kissing, doing homework, just enjoying each other’s company.

Unconsciously, Sonny directed his feet towards St. Luke’s. He slowed his pace as he rounded the corner and entered the garden. 

“Hi, baby.” Sonny sunk to the ground, his legs crossed, and swiped away the grass that was already growing over the gravestone. He was silent for awhile, picking at the grass. Then he said, “I miss you, Will. I meant what I said in my vows, that you were my anchor. I always knew where I was supposed to be when I was with you, even when things weren’t the best between us. You were always there, tethering me. I don’t - I don’t really know what to do with myself without you. I mean, I have my job and the club but…I’m lost, Will. I walk around Paris at night sometimes, not knowing where I’m going and I just…wander. And being here in Salem is like I’m out in the open water without a lifesaver. I just wish you were here.”

Sonny sat in silence at Will’s grave for a long time until the sun began to set and his phone buzzed with messages from his mother about dinner at the Kiriakis mansion.

* * *

 

In the days following his return to Salem, Sonny spent most of his time at Club TBD. As much as he enjoyed running Victor’s clubs, there was something much more satisfactory about running his own. Working kept him busy and kept his mind off how empty the town felt without his husband and how guilty he still felt about the last eight months of their relationship.

* * * * * * * * * *

Sonny was walking through Horton Town Square on his way home one night about a week after his return when his heart stopped. 

Will was standing on the other side of the plaza. Will grinned when he spotted Sonny across the way and immediately sprinted through the crowd.

Sonny stood stock still, his heart barely beating and beating too fast all at once, as Will hurtled towards him. Will knocked the wind out of him, as Will crashed their bodies together and threw his arms around Sonny’s neck. 

“Oh my god, Sonny,” Will mumbled, burying his face in Sonny’s neck. 

Almost robotically, Sonny slid his arms around Will’s back. The weight of Will’s body against his own, hard and toned but soft - and alive, oh so alive - snapped Sonny out of his shock. Sonny choked out a broken sob when he felt Will’s heart beating against his chest, circled his arms more tightly around Will’s waist, and turned his nose into Will’s hair. 

They stood on the edge of Horton Town Square, embracing each other, for what felt like days to Sonny. Eventually, reality dawned on Sonny and a thousand questions sprang to his mind.

Sonny broke away just enough so he could look at his husband. “I don’t understand,” Sonny said, even as he took Will’s face in his hands. 

He raked his eyes over Will. His hair was dirty and he was thinner than Sonny had ever seen him, but his eyes sparkled bluer than ever and his smile lit up his face. 

“How are you here? You’re not a ghost? You’re real?” Sonny babbled, disbelief scrambling his brain.

“Not here. Is the club closed? Can we go there and talk?”

Sonny nodded, grabbed Will’s hand, and pulled back the way he had come.

* * *

 

As soon as Sonny unlocked TBD and put the lights on, Will said, “It looks just like I remember it.”

“Will,” Sonny said, the name sounding strange on his tongue. “I, uh, I’m gonna need you to explain what the hell is going on because I buried you ten months ago and yet here you are living and breathing.” Sonny’s voice was hysterical, his shock wearing off and turning to panic mixed with confusion.

Will’s eyes widening momentarily in surprise but he recovered quickly, taking Sonny’s hands in his and leading him to their favorite booth. “I don’t - I didn’t know that,” Will said quietly.

“What?” Sonny was really panicking now, not knowing what was going on.

“Okay, Sonny, breathe,” Will cooed, petting Sonny’s hand on top of the table. “I’ll try to explain.”

“I was kidnapped in LA,” Will said and Sonny squawked like a wounded bird. “I don’t really know how it happened, to be honest. I’d gone to set early one day to get some writing done before the chaos started and I remember,” Will squinted, thinking. “I remember a shelf falling over and books falling on my head. The next thing I know I’m waking up on a hard bed in a cold cell.”

“Will…” Sonny whispered, his eyes wide in horror.

Will smiled tightly. “It’s okay. Surprisingly, they treated me well. They fed me and gave me books to read. Even let me take a shower now and again. It’s like they wanted or needed me alive. Which, I guess they did. Like that time Rafe was kidnapped.”

Sonny opened his mouth to ask a question but Will cut him off. “I’ll tell you _that_  story another day. So I remember panicking when I realized I was being held prisoner by someone but, long story short, Stefano eventually revealed himself. Told me he’d kidnapped me to prove a point to my mom that taking us kids to LA to escape him was foolish. That he could find us anywhere.”

“But she didn’t know,” Sonny said slowly.

Will snorted in amusement. “She didn’t know her own husband had been kidnapped. She was sleeping with the imposter for like three months and she couldn’t figure it out.” Sonny’s face paled. “Oh god, Sonny. No. No no no. I’m not blaming you for not knowing it wasn’t me. Stefano is very good at making imposters seem convincing.” 

Will linked their fingers together to reassure Sonny.

“So once I knew it was Stefano and that he didn’t actually want me dead, I stopped panicking. It was kind of nice being fed and given an endless supply of books.” 

Will grinned cheekily and Sonny returned the smile despite himself.

“But that was almost two years ago,” Sonny said.

“I know. After a while, Stefano’s goons started showing me clips of what was going on here, with fake me. It was so odd, Sonny. It was like watching my life only it wasn’t me.”

“How much do you know?” Sonny asked cautiously. 

“Not a lot really. He really only showed me images of me and you fighting. I don’t know much beyond that. And I - I didn’t know I’d - he’d - I’d died until I got out.”

“How _did_ you get out?”

“Stefano’s cronies got lazy. Honestly, I think they stopped caring, or Stefano did. After bringing me food one day a few weeks ago, they left the door ajar.” 

“Maybe they realized that with Stefano dead they didn’t have to keep you there.”

“Stefano’s dead?” It was Will’s turn to be shocked. “For real?”

Sonny nodded. “Hope shot him after he mocked her about Bo’s death. He was sick anyway and the bullets just finished him off.”

“Uncle Bo’s dead too?” A shadow crossed Will’s face.

Sonny squeezed Will’s hand. “He had a brain tumor no one knew about. There was nothing anyone could do.”

“I think you better tell me what else has happened.”

Sonny stared at Will, Will’s story catching up to him, the weight of what it all meant dawning on him. He’d told Paul just before the funeral that he’d wished he could have the last eight months back. He hadn’t believed that would be possible, but here was Will - his real Will - sitting across from him, telling him that nothing that had happened over the past year and half had been real. Except it felt real to Sonny, the pain of Will’s infidelity, the crushing grief of Will’s death.

“Sonny?”

Will’s voice pulled him out of his reverie. He wanted to take Will home before telling him everything - only he didn’t have a home. He couldn’t take him to the DiMera mansion, not after what Stefano did to him. There was no question about the Kiriakis mansion; he wanted to avoid his parents at all costs at this precise moment. The apartment was the only place, but Gabi would likely be there with Ari, and as certain as he was that Will was itching to see his daughter, he wanted Will to himself right now.

Sonny slid out of the booth and held his hand out to Will. Though a little baffled, Will took it and let Sonny lead him to the back office.

“Your office?”

“I’m staying at the DiMera mansion right now and Gabi’s in the apartment. I know you probably want to see Arianna but…” Sonny trailed off because Will was smiling softly at him.

“I missed you so much, Sonny,” Will said, closing the distance between them.

Sonny’s heart beat a drum against his chest as Will’s face came within inches of his own. They searched each other’s eyes for a few seconds before Will slid his hands up Sonny’s arms and shoulders, onto his neck, finally resting them on Sonny’s cheeks; Sonny’s skin burned where Will his fingers had touched it. When Will’s lips finally touched his own, Sonny’s blood thrummed, igniting his soul. He hadn’t lied when he’d said at the funeral that he was burying part of his heart with Will; as he returned the pressure of the kiss and slid his arms around Will’s waist, Sonny could feel his heart coming back to life, just as Will had. 

When they broke apart for air, Will leaned his forehead against Sonny’s, his eyes closed, and his arms still encircled around Sonny’s neck. 

After another minute, Will pulled away to look at Sonny. Sonny opened his eyes to see Will staring at him, upset. 

“Son? Why are you crying?”

Sonny hadn’t realized he had been. “I missed you, Will,” Sonny croaked.

Will released his neck and slid his hands back into Sonny’s. He walked backwards, taking Sonny with him, towards the couch. Sonny almost robotically sat down next to him, and let Will pull his back against his chest.

“Tell me what happened,” Will said quietly, kissing the hair on top of Sonny’s head.

Sonny took a deep breath. He was dazed and still a little bit confused, and the last two years seemed suddenly like a dream that he couldn’t shake. His feelings were all still real, even if Will had not been.

“Well, you left for LA, you know that part. You stopped answering my calls and texts after a while, though I guess that’s because, well, you know.”

“I was kidnapped.”

Sonny nodded against Will’s chest. 

“And then you came back around Christmas. I was so happy to see you and Ari. But then I was trying to build a new club and everything went wrong. The club was a money pit that I couldn’t get running and then it was New Year’s and you had the article to write and then I got stabbed and you cheated on me and after that we couldn’t get back on track because you kept lying so I left for Paris to work for Victor and then you died.” 

Sonny had spoken very fast and all in one sentence and there were so many blanks that needed to be filled.

“What?” Will asked, turning Sonny to face him. “I think I only caught about every third word of that.” Will chuckled.

Sonny blinked at his husband. Their troubles had started with lies, especially lies about Paul. “Well, if I’m really going to be honest. I guess it all started when Paul showed up out of the blue.”

“Paul?”

“Narita.”

“The baseball player?” Will eyes lit up in excitement and a twinge of jealousy and pain panged Sonny’s heart. 

Sonny nodded imperceptibly. “My ex-boyfriend.” 

Will’s mouth dropped open in an ‘o’. “You dated Paul Narita?” Will sounded slightly light-headed.

“For over a year. And…I asked him to marry me,” Sonny said and twitched involuntarily.

Will blinked at him. “Oh.”

When it appeared Will wasn’t going to say anything else, Sonny picked up his story again. “Anyway, so he came here for rotator cuff surgery and he saw me and he kiss - he kissed me but I told him I was married and nothing could happen between us. And then you came back - or I thought it was you - from LA and you got your old job at Sonixx back. Your first story was to do an article on Paul. Except he didn’t know who you were, didn’t even know you were married because your editor thought it’d be better if he didn’t. And you didn’t know he was my ex or that I was who he kept telling you about. 

“At some point, I was strapped for cash so I took all our savings and you felt that you needed to get the best possible story out of Paul, so, well, I don’t know exactly what happened in the hotel room, but you ended up sleeping together.”

Sonny paused. Will stared at him in silence. 

After a beat, Will said, “You believed I would cheat on you?” His voice portrayed the hurt Sonny saw in Will’s eyes.

Sonny looked away, ashamed. “I - we’d been having problems and we’d barely seen each other for more than two minutes for two months. Y - you had a plausible explanation. I know how persuasive and charming Paul can be when he wants to be. And I know that you can be insecure at times so when you told me that you were flattered by his attention and you lost your head, it was believable to me.”

Will blinked, clearly processing Sonny’s story. 

When Will didn’t respond, Sonny barreled on. “I found out the same day I got stabbed in the back. Literally and figuratively stabbed int he back in the same day, ironic, no?” Sonny said with a wry smile but Will remained stoic. “After I recovered, we basically stopped communicating. I, uh, I only see this in retrospect, but I kind of kept you and Paul both dangling on a string while, not knowing where either of you stood in my life. I used our marriage as a reason to not deal with my unresolved feelings for Paul but I didn’t do anything to fix our marriage. And then I left for Paris and you died,” Sonny finished, rather lamely. 

Will let out a slow breath. “So where does that leave us?” Will asked, after a minute.

“I - I left something out of that story,” Sonny responded. “I was, um, I was coming home to fix things between us, tell you I still loved you, when Uncle Vic called me with the news.”

Will’s eyes brightened and he searched Sonny’s face.

“I know that we were having issues before you left for LA,” Sonny said. “But I feel like a miracle has been granted to me, having you sitting here with me, and I’d very much like to have my husband back, if that’s what you want.”

Will blinked at him for a few seconds before he said, “It’s all still real for you though, isn’t it? Me cheating, me dying.”

“What does that matter?”

Will jumped off the couch. “Of course it matters, Son! You have these experiences that I don’t have. You’ve been a relationship with me for two years longer than I have, dealing with things I haven’t dealt with. The last time I saw you, we were hugging and kissing in the DiMera’s garden, promising each other we’d stay the same.” 

He was pacing now, running his hands over the back of his head, as he always did when he was anxious.

“I…,” Sonny started without finishing. He had no answer to that but his stomach squirmed uncomfortably.

Will sat back down heavily on the couch and took Sonny’s hands in his “I already told you I don’t blame you. I’m just telling you what I feel.”

“It is my fault,” Sonny said. “I should have realized it wasn’t you. I like to think you would have realized if the roles had been reversed.”

Will’s face softened. “Me? You know I’m oblivious to everything.”

Sonny snorted in amusement and grinned. “So, you’re okay with us trying to work things out?”

“Of course I am, Son,” Will said softly. “I just - you having two years of a relationship with me that I don’t can’t just be swept under the rug. Especially since they were unpleasant.”

Sonny nodded. “We’ll be okay. I’ll be okay. I’m just so grateful that I get a second chance. It doesn’t seem real.” Absentmindedly, Sonny stroked Will’s cheek with his thumb, almost as if he was making sure it _was_  real.

Will smiled and leaned forward to press their lips together. When they broke apart, Will said, “It’s real. And I promise to prove it more to you later. But, um, do you think I can see Ari now?”

* * *

 

Word of Will’s kidnapping and return travelled through Salem faster than Will could tell his family. 

After visiting with Ari and Gabi (who had screamed and nearly fainted when Sonny showed up at the apartment with Will by his side), Will’s first phone call was to Lucas. 

Lucas arrived at the apartment less than ten minutes after Will’s call, and hugged Will tightly for a very long minute, sobbing tears of relief and joy into his son’s shoulder. 

Over the next few hours and days, the apartment was a parade of Will’s friends and family: Marlena and John; Abigail and Chad; Kate; Jennifer; T; Roman; Rafe; and Hope and Caroline. Will had attempted to contact Sami but she was still MIA. 

A couple days after Will’s return, there was a knock on the door as Sonny was unpacking his stuff. (Gabi had graciously moved back into Ari’s bedroom to allow Will and Sonny the master bedroom.) 

“I’ll get it,” Sonny said to Will who was re-organzing the drawers. 

Sonny ran his fingers across Will’s back on his way out of the bedroom; it had become a habit over the week since Will’s return, Sonny touching Will as often as possible, both to reassure himself that Will was real and to reassure Will that Sonny still loved him and was committed to making their marriage work. He had made that mistake once, he was not going to make it again with this miracle second chance.

To Sonny’s surprise, Paul was standing on the threshold when Sonny opened the door. “Paul.”

“Hey,” Paul said awkwardly. “So, um, my dad told me about Will. To be honest, I’m still pretty confused about it but I thought I’d come by. I hope that’s okay.”

“Sonny, who is it?” Will asked, coming into the living room from the bedroom. “Oh my god. You’re Paul Narita.” Will was stopped dead in his tracks halfway between the bedroom and the door. 

Paul smiled despite himself. “Been a while since someone had that reaction,” Paul muttered. 

“Sorry,” Will apologized and finished his walk to the door and stopped next to Sonny. “Sonny told me everything, about you and him, about me and you. I know this is probably really weird for you, but I’m Will. It’s very nice to meet you.” Will held his hand out to Paul.

With a cautious glance at Sonny, Paul shook Will’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Will. And you’re right. This is very weird. I’m still not sure I fully understand.”

“Well, why don’t you come in? What’s wrong with you, Sonny?” Will reprimanded and turned away from Sonny and Paul to go to the kitchen. “Would you like coffee or tea or something?”  
  
Sonny blinked after his husband and then gestured for Paul to come in, closing the door behind his ex. 

“I’ll just have a soda,” Paul said, still slightly dazed, and looked at Sonny again. 

Sonny shrugged. 

“Will, are you okay?” Sonny asked. 

Will held out a soda can to Paul and one to Sonny. Both took their respective offered drinks. “Yeah, why?”

“I don’t know. You seem a little….” Sonny trailed off. 

Will huffed out a laugh and sat down on the couch. “I’m trying to make the best of this situation,” Will answered. “You two have two years of experiences that I don’t have. I’m trying to catch up. I’m also trying to make things right.”

“What do you mean?” Sonny asked slowly, though he sat down next to Will.

“Look, what happened between the three of us didn’t really happen. I know it feels like it did to you two, and I’m sorry for that, but it wasn’t me. I want us to start over. The three of us.”

Without saying a word, Paul pulled the desk chair in front of the couch so that the three men formed a triangle. 

“I know there’s a history,” Will continued. “I know that you two have unresolved issues.” 

Paul and Sonny glanced at each other quickly and then back at Will. 

“And I’m - I’m okay with that,” Will said, half to himself, half to Sonny and Paul. “But I’d like - I’d like for us all to be friends.”

There was silence as Sonny and Paul processed the meaning of Will’s words. It was Paul who broke first. 

“I’d like that.”

Sonny’s head snapped towards Paul. “You would?”

Paul barked out a laugh. “I’ve known since the day you told me you were married that you’d never come back to me. I’ve come to terms with that, especially now,” - he gestured to Will sitting close to Sonny - “and I’m modeling with Gabi, so I figure, why not be friends?”

* * *

 

About a week after Will’s return, Zoe knocked on Will and Sonny’s door with an offer to for Will to return to Sonixx. Almost before the offer was out of Zoe’s mouth, Will declined.

“I don’t think Sonixx is the right match for me,” Will told his former editor. “I might not have been the one who wrote that article on Paul or Clyde, but I know what happened, and I don’t think I can work for someone who thinks being gay is something that needs to be hidden.”

Sonny stood in the doorway of their bedroom, his arms folded over his chest, and his heart bursting with pride.

Offended, Zoe turned on her heels and left the apartment without a word.

* * * * * * * * *

Three days later, Will bounced into the apartment, a huge smile on his face.

“Sonny! Guess what,” Will said, kissing Sonny on the cheek where he was standing in the kitchen cooking dinner.

“What?”  
  
“I got a job at the _Salem Spectator_!” 

Sonny whipped around. “You did?!”

“It’s only as a staff editor, but the paper is more reputable than _Sonixx_ and it’s more of a news reporting job.”

“Will, that’s great. I’m so proud of you.” Sonny grinned and pulled Will to him, hugging him.

“Thanks,” Will mumbled into Sonny’s shoulder. Then, “The pasta’s burning.”

“Shit,” Sonny laughed and turned to shut off the stove. 

* * * * * * * * * *

“You’re coming to the fashion show tomorrow, right?” Gabi asked, one day a couple weeks later.

She was having dinner with Will, Sonny, and Ari, and then was going to take Ari with her to stay at Rafe’s for the night so Will and Sonny could have the night alone.

“Is Paul in it?” Will asked, through a mouthful of chicken parmesan. 

“Of course. He’s my partner. Is that - is that a problem?” She shot a look between Will and Sonny.

“No,” Will and Sonny simultaneously. 

“I was just curious,” Will said. 

“This’ll be fun,” Sonny muttered, a small smile tugging at his lips.

True to form, the fashion show was all levels entertaining and embarrassing. Gabi was beautiful in the gowns Theresa had become adept at designing, and Paul looked stunning in the matching suits. Cameras flashed all around them, immortalizing their walks down the runway. 

Sitting by Will’s side in the audience, Sonny was nevertheless amazed to see how comfortable Paul was on the stage. Paul was used to attention, but that was on a baseball field; modeling clothes was an entirely different kind of attention. 

After, Will and Sonny were at the bar having a drink with Gabi and Paul when Dario made his way over.

“Gabriella, you were amazing,” Dario said, hugging his sister. “You really look like you belong up there.”  
  
“Thanks,” Gabi replied, returning her brother’s hug with a smile. “Dario, have you met my partner, Paul?”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Paul said with a dazzling smile, holding out his hand.

“You were great too,” Dario answered, shaking Paul’s hand. 

Will could have sworn Dario’s eyes quickly flicked up and down Paul’s body. Wondering if it was just him who noticed, Will chanced a glance at Sonny; to his delight, Sonny’s eyebrows were raised and his head was cocked a little bit in curiosity.

When Dario left a minute later, Sonny said, his teeth wrapped around the straw in his cocktail, “He seemed pretty interested in your clothes, Paul.”

“What?” Paul and Gabi said together, both with a laugh.

“Nothing. Never mind,” Sonny said, but he shared a look with Will that made them both smile. 

* * *

 

“Do you think Dario is bi or something?” Sonny asked Will bluntly one night while they were getting ready for bed.

“Hmm?” Will asked through a mouthful of toothpaste.

“You saw him check out Paul at the show. I know you did. And he’s been hanging around TBD _a lot_  whenever Paul is there with meetings for Basic Black or just having a cup of coffee.”  
  
“Maybe it’s because of Gabi?” 

Sonny shook his head. “She’s usually not there. We both know Paul is the real face of Basic Black’s new line.”

Will turned to Sonny with a glint in his eye.

The Will who’d been around for the two years prior may not have been the real Will but he had certainly mastered the look Will was giving Sonny right now. It was frightening.

“What?” Sonny asked warily.

“Why don’t we find out?” Will said with an evil grin.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Like children plotting a prank, Will and Sonny spent the following week meticulously planning how they were going to prove their theory that Dario liked Paul. 

Eventually, they settled on Sonny hosting a Halloween party at TBD. Ari was at the age where she enjoyed playing dress up and it reminded them of their first Halloween together as boyfriends. If they were being honest, the party was also a way for them to start on their heretofore somewhat abandoned path to reclaiming the part of their relationship that had gotten lost when Will had been kidnapped and faux-Will had returned from Los Angeles.

“Paul definitely said he was coming?” Will asked straightening the lapel of Sonny’s doctor’s coat. 

Sonny nodded. “He said he might even wear his baseball uniform.”

“He can’t do that!” Will answered, truly offended. “He’s really a baseball player. He can’t dress up as one for Halloween!”

Sonny laughed. “We’re not exactly imaginative, dressed up as doctor and patient.”

Will _hmmph_ ed, smirked, and left the bedroom to check that Ari was all ready in her Cinderella dress.

* * * * * * * * *

“You’re sure Dario’s gonna come?” Will asked Gabi nonchalantly as they sat at the bar.

“Yeah said he would. Why are you so interested in him coming anyway?”

“No reason.”

Gabi looked at him suspiciously but didn’t respond, as her attention got pulled away by one of her model friends.

“He’s coming, right?” Sonny whispered in Will’s ear, as he suddenly appeared at Will’s side. 

“Gabi says - Look!” Will surreptitiously pointed to the doorway where Dario had just entered TBD. “Show time.” Will turned to grin at his husband who grinned back.

“Hey, Paul,” Sonny said, sidling up to his ex. “Having fun?”

“Yeah,” Paul smiled. “Ari’s little friends are cute.”

“I still can’t believe you came dressed as a baseball player,” Will chimed in, from where he stood behind Sonny. “You _are_ a baseball player.”

Paul smiled wider. “I never liked Halloween. I always just wanted to be a ballplayer.”

Will huffed out a laugh and shook his head. 

“Dario!” Sonny called, as Gabi’s brother walked past them towards the bar.

“Oh, hi,” Dario stopped and rerouted himself to where they were standing.

“You remember Paul?” 

“Gabi’s partner,” Dario said almost immediately. 

“I think you are the first person in a long time to define me by someone else rather than by my career,” Paul said.

Dario looked at him curiously.

“Dario’s not really a sports kind of guy,” Will replied. 

“Paul’s a professional baseball player,” Sonny offered.

“Oh.”

“You really had no idea?” Paul asked, his attention focused solely on Dario.

“Like Will said, I don’t really follow sports. That’s more Rafe’s area.”

“That’s…refreshing, actually.” Paul smiled.

After sharing a knowing and triumphant look with each other, Will and Sonny slipped away, leaving Paul and Dario to talk. When they checked back, ten minutes later, from their perches at the bar, Paul and Dario were still engaged in conversation; Will and Sonny grinned at each other and high-fived.

* * *

 

The first real test in their newly-built relationship came when Will got assigned his first article.

“So…I got my first assignment,” Will said, crawling into bed next to Sonny.

“Why don’t you sound more excited?” Sonny said with a little laugh. 

“It’s about Abi and Chad and Aunt Jen,” Will said slowly.

“What?”

“Well, the _Spectator_  is the town’s newspaper and there’s nothing better for a full-page headline than an institutionalized Horton and a pill-popping Horton fighting for custody of her grandchild against the only surviving DiMera heir.”

Sonny stared at him. “Are you going to write it?”

Will heard in the question the hint of disapproval, and also a challenge.

“I think…I think I will but only if I get Abi, Chad, and Aunt Jen’s permission first,” Will said carefully. “And I’m going to convince my editor to let the three of them have fully creative control. I won’t put anything in the article that they don’t want in it.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Will nodded.

“Will you let me read it before you send it your editor? And let me tell you if I think there’s anything in it that should be taken out?”

“That sounds great,” Will said with a smile. 

For the next three weeks, Will stuck to his guns, allowing Chad, Abi, and Jennifer full control of what went into the article, and sat down with Sonny when the article was done, listening to and accepting Sonny’s critiques, and making the changes. The final article was sent to his editor at the _Spectator_ with only what he wanted published. 

In the week following, Will and Sonny unconsciously walked on eggshells, waiting for the publication of the article, which was to be published in the edition of the Monday just before Thanksgiving.

“It should be in there. Read it for me. I can’t look,” Will said, handing the paper the morning of the publication.

Sonny took the paper, riffled through the pages, and stopped when he found the article. He scanned it quickly. “It looks exactly like you planned it to,” Sonny said. 

Will breathed out a sigh of relief and scooted next to Sonny so they could read the paper together. “It really is.”

“Like you said, the _Spectator_  is a legitimate publication. They listen to their writers.”

Will grinned and kissed Sonny.

* * *

 

“Hey, you okay?” Will asked, tracing circles on Sonny’s chest just above his heart.

“I was just thinking about last Christmas.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I was in Paris trying not to think about you being dead,” Sonny said absentmindedly. “I didn’t even call Ari.”

“I was in a cage,” Will deadpanned and Sonny burst out laughing, as Will hoped he would.

“I’m sorry. Of course you had it worse.” Sonny turned his head to look at Will and stroked the back of his hand against Will’s cheek.

“At least I knew you were alive and well,” Will said quietly. “I don’t know how you survived.”

Sonny didn’t answer right away. “It felt like there was a hole inside me that would never heal. I really did mean it when I said you were my anchor. I didn’t know what to do with myself without you. It’s partly why I went back to Paris. I could make myself feel more grounded there, away from the memories of you. But…it still hurt. Honestly, waking up and forcing myself to _live_  every day was harder than climbing K-2.”

Will closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Sonny’s. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

Sonny wrapped his arms around Will’s waist. “Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.” After a beat, Sonny said, “You’re here now, warm and alive, and I can’t wait until tomorrow.”

Will’s lips curled into a smile and he curled into Sonny’s side.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The following morning, Will and Sonny and Ari made their way to the Horton house for the annual tree trimming ceremony. (They’d insisted on taking Ari for the morning to hang her ornament, and they’d pass her off to Gabi for the afternoon to be with the Hernandezes.)

Sonny rejoiced, along with the rest of the Hortons, at the sight of Will hanging his own ornament on the tree, as his heart soared as he and Will hung Ari’s together. It was a joyous Christmas for all involved, the return of Will, and Sonny could barely breathe for being so happy. 

After they dropped Ari off with Gabi and her family, Will and Sonny made their way to the ice skating rink into which the lake had been transformed.

“You know I can’t ice skate without hurting myself, right?” Will said, staring warily at the rink.

Sonny grinned. “Come on, I’ll keep you standing.”

Will pouted but nodded and let Sonny drag him to get skates. 

After twenty minutes, Sonny let Will go, though he laughed and playfully made fun of his poor skating skills. Will stuck his tongue out at his husband as they walked to the hot chocolate and coffee stand.

“Remember when we talked about spending Christmas in the European markets?” Will asked, settling himself next to Sonny on one of the benches overlooking the rink.

“Yeah.” Sonny smiled at the memory. “I gave you my scarf.”

A smile spread slowly across Will’s face. “I love that scarf.” Then, “Let’s go to the markets for New Year’s. We could probably get last minute plane tickets.”

Sonny blinked at Will. “Unce Vic could probably lend us his plane.”

Will’s eyes twinkled. “I’m sure Gabi wouldn’t mind having Ari to herself for a couple weeks.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t,” Sonny agreed.

* * * * * * * * * * *

As predicted, Gabi obliged regarding Arianna, as did Victor regarding loaning them a Kiriakis plane. Carrie and Austin even agreed to let Will and Sonny stay in their extra bedroom, until and unless Will and Sonny decided they wanted to move to a hotel. The next afternoon found Will and Sonny on their way to Switzerland.

When they landed, they caught a taxi to Carrie and Austin’s home and then headed out on a tour of all of Will’s favorite places. The following evening, they sat on a bench in the market where Will had first started imagining bringing a lover to see the markets.

“You know, I’d never really been one of those kids who imagined having a girlfriend,” Will said.

“I wonder why that was?” Sonny mock asked.

Will barked out a laugh. Sonny grinned. 

“Or a _boyfriend_ ,” Will clarified. “But then I came here. I was looking up at the stars one night and I started thinking how nice it would be to dance with and kiss someone under them.”

Sonny stood up and held his hand out to Will. “What’s stopping you now?”

Will turned his head up to Sonny and slipped his hand into Sonny’s. Sonny pulled him off the bench and wrapped his arms around Will’s waist. Will automatically twined his around Sonny’s neck. 

“Are we okay, Sonny?” Will asked as they swayed on the spot to imaginary music.

“Yeah,” Sonny answered, surprised at the question. “Why?”

Will didn’t answer right away. “We both know there were problems between us before I got kidnapped, and I don’t feel like we’ve resolved them. I mean, we haven’t really talked about it.”

“From what I remember, our biggest problem was you writing those exposes on your family. Also, you said our life was boring.”

“And then I got kidnapped three months later,” Will said, his face spreading slowly into a grin. “How’s that for excitement?”

Sonny snorted. 

“Our life’s not boring,” Will said, seriously. “I could have handled the articles better.”

“You did. You told Zoe to take a hike and now you’re working at the paper.” Sonny’s voice was laced with pride.

“What about everything that happened with the other me?” Will’s eyes searched  Sonny’s.

Sonny stopped swaying and stood still. Will followed, though his arms remained around Sonny’s neck.

“I’m not going to pretend that I don’t still think about it. That I don’t wonder for a second if maybe you’re sleeping with someone else when you don’t answer your phone. But I know, consciously, that that wasn’t you, so I’m trying to work on it. The nightmares about you being dead are still there, you know that. But they’ve become less frequent now.”

Will didn’t respond.

Sonny said, “I don’t know what challenges might come up in the future, but we’re _us_  again, Will. I know in my heart that we are, and I don’t want to screw it up this time. Life is too short for that.”

Will bit his lip. “I just don’t want us to lose each other again. I don’t want us to stop communicating but I don’t want us to lose ourselves in the process either. Can we do that?”

“I think we can. And I’m willing to try if you are.”

Will nodded. “Let’s be us again, okay?”

Sonny smiled softly. “Can we kiss under the stars now?”

Will returned Sonny’s smile as their lips touched in kiss full of promise and home. 


End file.
